Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released January 3, 2013, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Up 1 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 196 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 29, 2012. This was up 1 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier. Broiler-Type Chicks Placed Down 2 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 159 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 29, 2012. Placements were down 2 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through December 29, 2012 were 8.41 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 24, : December 1, : December 8, :December 15, :December 22, :December 29, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 28,045 27,975 27,670 27,607 27,871 27,873 Arkansas .....................: 21,532 21,963 20,891 21,845 21,622 21,742 Delaware .....................: 3,413 3,415 3,414 3,415 3,414 3,411 Florida ......................: 1,353 1,655 1,048 1,350 1,353 1,350 Georgia ......................: 32,298 34,317 30,251 32,433 32,432 32,233 Kentucky .....................: 7,350 7,364 7,414 7,694 7,679 7,352 Louisiana ....................: 3,258 3,258 3,273 3,288 3,304 3,288 Maryland .....................: 7,182 7,067 7,117 7,185 7,153 7,066 Mississippi ..................: 17,178 17,089 17,377 17,174 16,822 16,719 Missouri .....................: 8,013 8,012 7,713 7,881 7,897 7,932 : North Carolina ...............: 20,043 20,022 19,058 19,992 19,978 19,765 Oklahoma .....................: 6,825 7,026 6,809 6,581 6,968 6,936 Pennsylvania .................: 3,701 3,935 3,583 3,812 3,713 3,711 South Carolina ...............: 5,657 5,557 5,316 4,675 5,462 5,463 Texas ........................: 14,212 14,764 13,761 14,237 14,033 14,048 Virginia .....................: 6,455 6,638 6,002 6,476 6,490 6,260 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,372 10,961 9,398 9,694 10,574 10,428 : 19 State total ...............: 196,887 201,018 190,095 195,339 196,765 195,577 : Previous year total ..........: 194,560 194,178 194,887 194,602 195,380 192,967 : Percent of previous year .....: 101 104 98 100 101 101 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 24, : December 1, : December 8, :December 15, :December 22, :December 29, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 17,883 19,786 21,156 21,449 21,399 21,054 Arkansas .....................: 18,987 19,476 19,134 19,857 19,753 19,236 Delaware .....................: 4,309 3,550 3,831 4,086 3,817 3,727 Florida ......................: 1,162 1,020 1,369 1,311 1,304 725 Georgia ......................: 24,958 26,525 25,978 26,268 27,620 25,505 Kentucky .....................: 5,875 5,542 6,122 6,315 5,574 5,731 Louisiana ....................: 2,664 2,642 2,940 2,912 2,958 2,937 Maryland .....................: 5,710 7,060 6,526 6,198 6,137 7,131 Mississippi ..................: 12,984 14,757 14,493 14,989 14,871 15,027 Missouri .....................: 4,869 5,316 5,768 5,720 5,633 5,589 : North Carolina ...............: 16,127 16,728 15,865 16,416 15,819 15,556 Oklahoma .....................: 3,997 4,204 5,307 4,734 5,334 4,523 Pennsylvania .................: 2,772 2,804 3,084 2,900 3,110 2,970 South Carolina ...............: 4,885 3,843 5,064 4,344 4,763 4,128 Texas ........................: 11,162 11,832 11,940 11,809 12,416 11,619 Virginia .....................: 3,929 3,592 4,264 4,456 4,973 4,021 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 9,465 10,742 10,661 9,577 11,497 9,301 : 19 State total ...............: 151,738 159,419 163,502 163,341 166,978 158,780 : Previous year total ..........: 156,853 160,576 162,541 162,116 162,753 162,444 : Percent of previous year .....: 97 99 101 101 103 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for broiler hatchery estimates are collected weekly from all chicken hatcheries within the 19 States that hatch at least one million chicks a year. The 19 States account for approximately 97 percent of the broilers produced on an annual basis. Individual NASS field offices maintain a list of all known hatcheries and update their lists on a continual basis. All hatcheries within the 19 States that meet the minimum size criteria are given adequate time to respond to the weekly survey. Those that do not respond are contacted by telephone. Estimating Procedures: All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for missing operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. NASS field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for reasonableness. Individual hatchery data are summed to State and 19 State totals. Revision Policy: Revisions are generally the result of late or corrected data. Revisions made to the previous five-week's data during the current week are published in this report. Final estimates are published in the annual Hatchery Production Summary released in April. Reliability: Estimates are subject to errors such as omission, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch ................................... (202) 720-3570 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ............ (202) 720-4447 Cody Brokmeyer - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised .. (202) 690-3237 David Colwell - Cold Storage ......................................... (202) 720-8784 LaKeya Jones - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Honey, Mink .......................... (202) 720-0585 Dawn Keen - Egg Products ............................................. (202) 720-4448 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ........................................... (202) 690-8632 Miste Salmon - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery .................... (202) 720-3244 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: http://www.nass.usda.gov Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e- mail subscription. 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